Foot-dampener for bowling-alleys.



No. 702,06| Patenfed lune l0, I902.

s. HOLDEN. FOOT DAMPENEB FOR BOWLING ALLEYS.

(Application filed Apr. 19 1992.)

(No Model.)

V tad/l &\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ UNITED STATES:

PATENT- OFFICE.-

SYLVANUS L. HOLDEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WILLIAMOORDES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FOOT-DAMPENER Fo RZLBOWLING-ALLEYSI.

sPEcIFIoA'rron forming part of Letters Patent No.j02,061, dated June 10,1902,

Application filed llpril 19, 1902.

To all whom it may concern.- 1 i a I 7 Be it known that I, SYLVANUS L.HOLDEN, of New York city, county and State of New York, have invented anew and-useful Im-" provement inFoot-Dampeners for Bowling Alleys; and Ido hereby declare the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionofthe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specifi-' cation.

My invention relates to what are commonly-- known as foot-dampeners,which are used in bowling-alleys and by the use of which the bowler wetsor dampens the soles of his shoes, so as to prevent slipping on thesmooth running-space of the alley when he goes to throw his ball. For avery great many years and up to within a comparatively late period itwas common. for the bowlers to use for the purpose of preventingthis'slipping what was called a chalk-box or a foot-chalkergifi p v V pI saidito 'consist;essentially ,in a water-tight box which was simply apiece of solid white chalk, either natural or molded into shape, boxedup within a wooden casing, say, from about five inches wide to nine orten inches long, placed, usually, immediately in rear of the newel-postsof a pair of, alleys and made slightly oblique on its top surface, onwhich the player previous to making his throw would rub the soles of hisfeet; but this oldfashioned method and contrivance of chalking the solesof the feet was for years known to be an imperfect and undesirablethingfor thepurpose, and lately, the old-fashioned.

foot-chalkers have been replaced by a device for wetting or dampeningthe soleslofthe shoes composed always, so faras my knowl edge goes, of atopless box or case of the proper size containing a sponge sufficientlylarge to fill the interior of the box, and the top of the box and spongethen beingcovered over by a piece of carpet securely tacked along itsfour edges to the top of the said sponge-frame. Then by keeping theconfined sponge thoroughly filled with water the player by pressing andrubbingthe 'solesof his feet one at a time on top of the carpet wouldhave the sole sufficiently dampened by the natural inforcement of thewater contained in the sponge up through the meshes of the wovenmaterial and onto the soles of his shoes.

seen a. 103,721. (No model.)

This substitute for the old-fashioned chalking system, which substitutehas now been in use for. some time,- while demonstrating that theIvvetting or dampening of the'fshOe-soles is better' than the'chalkirigofthem, has been found very 'objectionablein practical operation, sincethe c'a'rpet top of the dampener very soon getting'matted-and dirtied upwith the rubbing of the feet thereon so that it be- 6e fcom'e necessaryto remove the carpet and tack on a fresh piece.

lipropose to provide for use in the bowlingalley a device which willthoroughly and sufficientlydampen the soles of the feet rubbed on thetopthereof, but which will not, like the carpet, become dirtied up andunfit for use very soon, but which, on the other hand, will beexceedingly durable, exceedingly cleanly, and subject toaperfectlyorderly and e operative condition at all times.

Totliisend and object myinvention may be :this'perforated rubberdiaphragm the water containedfin the sponge of the box will be sprayed?upward, so to speak, or will exude from'the perforations of thisdiaphragm. and

'just' properly or safely wet the soles of the shoe, all as will behereinafter more fully described and as will be most particularly point-0 ed out in the claim of this specification.

To enable those skilled in theart towhich my invention most nearlyapparatus to make and use a foot-dampener according to myinvention, Iwill now proceed to describe the 5 same by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, which form part ofthis specification, and in which-' Figure 1is a top view of the article or de: vice. Fig. 2 is a verticalcross-section taken in aplane indicated by the dotted line 2 2 of Fig. 3is a vertical longitudina'lsec Fig. l.

. line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

In the central figures the same part will be found always designated bythe same letter of reference.

A is a simple box, which may be made of any suitable material, so thatit be watertight, within which box is placed a sponge B, whichapproximately fills the interior of the box to an extent such that whenfully saturated and expanded its upper surface will (especially near themiddle of the top of the sponge) project slightly above the level of aframe 0, which is provided with a sort of diaphragm D, made ofsheet-rubber and perforated, as seen at e in the drawings. Preferablythe removable top, composed of the frame 0, with its rubber diaphragm D,is secured in place by two or more lugs, which project vertically upwardfrom the top edge of the box and passing through suitable perforationsin the frame C may be provided at their upper ends with littlethumb-nuts to permit the easy removal and replacement of the said frameor cover. The piece of sheet-rubber D is made, as illustrated, so thatit has a sort of fullness or pucker in its superiices, which operates tokeep the rubber in a sort of upwardly-bulged condition when pressedupwardly by the confined and expanded sponge and which permits it,however, to be pressed downwardly for the purpose of squeezing thesponge, the said rubber diaphragm being automatically thrown up again bythe expansion of the sponge when relieved by the pressure of the bowlersfoot after having dampened the sole of his shoe.

Now experiment and practice to a considerable extent has demonstratedthat while this improved foot-dampener of mine is perfectly cleanly andoperates in precisely the desired manner to sufiiciently dampen thebowlers shoe as well is exceedingly durable,

requiring no permanent removal or replacement of any of its parts,though in the event of the small perforations in the rubber diaphragmbecoming at any time partially choked up and in case of the lodgment onthe top surface of the diaphragm of any dirt from the feet of thebowlers the cover or top of the clampeuer may be easily and periodicallyremoved in cleaning up the alleys and may have its top and bottomsurface as well easily cleaned off perfectly and its perforationsrendered perfectly free and open without the expenditure of much time orlabor.

Of course the sponge may be taken out periodically and squeezed orcleaned out if necessary, and it as well as the boX within which it isconfined may be perfectly and easily replenished with an ample supply ofwater very readily or quickly by simply removing the cover orframe withits rubber O and D, pouring a fresh supply of water into the box, andthen replacing the cover.

Having now so fully described my invention that those skilled in the artmay easily understand and practice it, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, 1s

A foot-dampener for bowling-alleys, composed of a suitable receptaclefor the retention of water, and a saturated sponge and provided with acover composed of a surrounding frame, within which is fitted adiaphragm-like sheet of rubber, perforated as specified, and adapted tobulge up and down, all in the manner and for the purpose hereinbeforeset forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of April,1902.

S YLVANUS L. HOLDEN.

lVitnesses:

GEO. W. LOLLINGER, HENRY P. Inn.

